Flat Or Adjustable Weight Bench: Which Do You Need?

Choose the flat bench if a flat pad is all you need and space is tight: it's 130 × 50cm and weighs 13kg. Choose the adjustable bench if you want incline and decline positions: it's 143 × 71cm, weighs 30kg, and has 7 backrest and 4 seat positions. Both are rated to 250kg, which counts you plus the weight you lift, and both have 6cm pads.

We sell both benches. Neither has uprights for a barbell, and we don't sell racks, so a lift where the bar starts held above you, such as a barbell bench press, needs a rack or stands from another supplier.

How do our flat and adjustable benches compare?

The adjustable bench is 13cm longer, 21cm wider, 7cm taller and 17kg heavier than the flat bench, and it adds 7 backrest and 4 seat positions. Both are rated to 250kg, both are built from 70 × 50 × 2mm Q235 steel with 6cm PU leather pads, and both carry a one-year warranty.

Everything in the table is from the two product pages, checked on 9 October 2026, except floor area, which is our arithmetic (length × width). If wheels matter to you, ask us before you order. See both benches with live prices in weight benches.

Which bench suits your equipment?

Both benches work with dumbbells and kettlebells, which need nothing else. The difference is the positions: the flat bench stays flat, while the adjustable bench sets flat, incline and decline. Which positions you need depends on how you train, and that's a question for you or a qualified trainer, not for a shop.

The product pages describe the flat bench for flat pressing, dumbbell work, sit-ups and core training, and the adjustable bench for flat, incline and decline training.

Check the 250kg against you plus the heaviest weight you'll lift. Both pages say the 250kg includes the user and any lifted weight. For example, a person weighing 90kg holding a pair of 40kg dumbbells puts 170kg on the bench. Our hex dumbbell pairs go up to 50kg each.

How much room does each bench need?

The flat bench stands on 130 × 50cm (0.65 m²) and the adjustable bench on 143 × 71cm (1.02 m²), about half as much floor again. Either fits on a 2 m × 1 m strip of our 1 m floor tiles. Add room to get on and off and to move around the bench, which depends on you and what you lift.

Worked example: a 2 × 2 m corner (an example; measure yours). With a 6-tier A-frame dumbbell rack, which stands on 59 × 36cm:

The rest of the corner is the room you have to use them in. The home gym equipment list shows what else fits in a corner, a spare room or a garage.

Getting it into the room. Packed, the flat bench is 126 × 39 × 15cm and the adjustable bench 132 × 50 × 24cm. Check the box will turn through your doors and up any stairs.

Where do you keep a bench when it's not in use?

Usually where you use it. Neither bench is described as folding, and neither specification lists wheels. The flat bench weighs 13kg and the adjustable 30kg, so plan on lifting the bench to move it. Placed lengthways along a wall, the flat bench takes 130cm of it and the adjustable 143cm, each standing out 50cm or 71cm.

• On rubber tiles, lift it. Our flooring warranty doesn't cover damage from dragging benches or other heavy equipment across the tiles.
• Keep it indoors and dry. Our warranty doesn't cover outdoor storage or prolonged exposure to rain, moisture, condensation, direct sunlight or unsuitable temperatures.
• Dumbbells and kettlebells. They go on their own racks: home gym storage ideas gives the size and what each of our racks holds.

Can you use these benches with a barbell?

Yes, but a lift where the bar starts held above you, such as a barbell bench press, needs a rack or stands from another supplier. Neither bench has uprights or bar holders (none are listed or shown on the product pages), and we don't sell squat racks, power racks or stands. With dumbbells or kettlebells, you need nothing else.

If you buy a rack elsewhere, check it against these published figures:

• Width. The flat bench is 50cm wide and the adjustable 71cm, so check the space between the rack's uprights where the bench will go.
• Length. The benches are 130cm and 143cm long.
• Height. The benches are 44cm and 51cm high as published, which matters for where the rack's bar hooks can sit above them.
• The bar. Our 6ft and 7ft Olympic bars both have 131cm between the sleeves, so the rack's hooks need to sit within that.

Our barbell warranty doesn't cover damage from dropping the bar onto benches. Whether you need a spotter or safety arms for a lift is a question for a qualified trainer. For what else a barbell set-up needs, see what you'll need from another supplier.

What flooring goes under a bench?

Our flooring page lists 10mm tiles for cardio equipment, benches and light free weights. If you use dumbbells with the bench, choose for the dumbbells instead: 15mm is listed for general home gyms and moderate dumbbell training, and 20mm for free-weight areas and heavier dumbbells. Either bench fits on two of our 1 m tiles.

• Thickness. How thick gym flooring should be explains when 10mm is enough and gives worked examples, including a bench and dumbbells in a spare room.
• Edges. There's no 10mm edge ramp, so an open edge on 10mm tiles is secured with a suitable adhesive.
• Laying. The tiles are 1 m × 1 m, laid in a brick pattern with each row offset by half a tile. See rubber gym flooring tiles for the five thicknesses, and the rubber gym flooring guide for choosing and laying them.

Other questions

Does the 250kg rating include my own weight?

Yes. Both product pages say the 250kg capacity includes the user and any lifted weight.

How is a bench delivered?

By parcel courier, because each bench weighs well under 100kg. Ordered on its own to a UK mainland address, the flat bench falls in the delivery band up to 20kg (£7.99) and the adjustable bench in the band up to 40kg (£13.99). Delivery is free on UK mainland orders over £300. Parcels typically arrive the next working day after dispatch; that's a courier estimate and can't be guaranteed. Full terms are on our delivery information page.

Do the benches need putting together?

The flat bench's page describes it as easy to assemble, with a simple setup. The adjustable bench's page doesn't describe assembly, so ask us if you want to know what's involved before you order.

Do you sell a bench and dumbbells together?

Not as one product. Our dumbbell sets come with their own rack, and the benches are sold separately, so add both to the same basket. Every fixed set weighs over 100kg, so an order with one comes on a pallet, unloaded at the kerb. To choose a set, see hex dumbbell sets with racks: how to choose.

About this guide

This guide compares the two weight benches we sell, so it compares our own products. It is based on:

• the flat and adjustable bench product pages, checked on 9 October 2026 (sizes, pads, positions, load ratings, weights, packed sizes and warranty);
• our warranty, flooring and delivery pages;
• our own arithmetic from those figures, such as floor area and the corner example.

It doesn't give training advice: which positions and exercises suit you is a question for a qualified trainer. Product cards show today's prices and stock. Last reviewed 9 October 2026.